In its 2025 election campaign platform, Projet Montréal says it is setting aside slogans in order to offer the centre city’s voters concrete solutions for priority problems.
The most pressing of these, according to the party’s 2025 campaign platform, is housing, says the incumbent party which is seeking a third term after winning majorities in Montreal City Council in 2017 and 2021.
“While the commodification of housing has led us into a brick wall, we want to develop the most ambitious housing plan in North America to allow all Montrealers to continue to choose where they want to live, when they want, without breaking the bank,” Projet Montréal leader and mayoralty candidate Luc Rabouin states.
Seeking a third term
After eight years of Projet Montréal administration at Montreal City Hall, with outgoing mayor Valérie Plante at the helm over that span of time, it remains to be seen whether the party’s hold on Montreal’s voters will continue.
This would be in spite of some of the issues that dogged Projet Montréal in the past four years, including the party’s rigid determination to continue expanding a growing network of paths in areas where they weren’t always well-received, as well as Projet Montréal’s unpopular decision to proceed with a plan to close Mount Royal to motor vehicle traffic.
“Projet Montréal’s vision has always centered around a city that thrives for its residents,” Rabouin says in a preface to his party’s platform. “A city that places the quality of life of families, young people, and seniors at the heart of its decisions.
‘A city for everyone’
“We are building a city for everyone, founded on the principles of social justice, solidarity, diversity and inclusion, a city committed to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and free from racism, disability discrimination and all forms of prejudice.”
Like some of the other municipal parties active in the 2025 election, Projet Montréal has set the housing crisis at the top of its list of things it would be dealing with if re-elected on November 2.
“Like all major North American cities, Montreal is experiencing its most serious housing crisis since the Second World War,” states the platform, while citing skyrocketing rents, weakened families and neighborhoods under pressure as the main problems.
“This crisis isn’t just a lack of housing; it’s also a loss of freedom for thousands of Montrealers: young people who can no longer choose the city for their studies, couples unable to separate, women trapped in a violent situation, families unable to move when an extra bedroom becomes necessary, workers forced to move further and further away and paying more and more.
Empowering Montrealers
“This is why Projet Montréal places housing at the heart of its commitments,” they continue. “Our plan works across the entire chain: getting everyone off the streets, facilitating the construction of affordable housing, protecting tenants, and facilitating access to homeownership. The goal is clear: to empower Montrealers who choose our city and want to continue living here.”
The party is proposing an eight-point plan that includes: The creation of 10 strategic zones where the city would have infrastructure ready for developers to build housing projects; Converting underused parking lots into housing projects; The creation of a $100 million municipal fund to be drawn on by non-profit groups for low-cost housing development; The creation of an even greater number of accessible and adaptable housing units than is now the case; And providing support for the conversion of downtown office buildings into housing.
Projet Montréal appears determined to deal with the housing crisis effectively. To that end, the party sets a deadline of 2030 to get everyone who is homeless “off the street.”
“No one should be forced to live on the streets in Montreal,” they say. “To achieve this, despite the city’s limited resources, concrete and coordinated actions are needed: supporting frontline associations, creating immediate and sustainable housing solutions, and protecting vulnerable housing from the speculative market.”
Dealing with housing crisis
This part of their agenda if elected would include doubling the financing of community organizations while guaranteeing it over three years; Deploying 500 modular housing units with social service support as quickly as possible; Supporting the creation of 500 transitional social housing units; And taking measures to protect rooming houses from developer speculation so that they are not suddenly removed from the housing market.
One of the more uncommon proposals being made by Projet Montréal would be the implementation of a new network of public washrooms spread out through all the city’s neighbourhoods, to serve the needs of families, senior citizens, workers, tourists and the homeless.
On the issue of traffic safety, the party wants to improve security in several districts of the city. In Parc Extension, they want to thoroughly review the development of Parc Avenue to transform it from “a dangerous urban highway” to a sustainable mobility corridor from Parc-Extension southward to the city center.
“Mobility in Montreal is not just about moving quickly,” states the platform. “It must be safe, accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Whether walking, cycling, taking the bus, the metro, or simply crossing the street, everyone must be able to move around without fear and enjoy public spaces.”
More bike paths coming
On the issue of bike paths, Projet Montréal confirms its intention to continue at least maintaining existing ones in the next four years if elected, while also extending paths in certain areas. While dealing at the same time with road safety, the party says it would explore the use of AI to better coordinate traffic lights in Montreal and expand the number of available handicapped parking spaces everywhere in the city.
If elected, Projet Montréal says it would go ahead with long postponed plans and outfit Montreal Police Dept. officers with body cameras in order to “strengthen transparency, accountability and trust between the public and the police.”
Among other things, the party is also pledging to make life easier for retail business operators through the creation of a new division of Accès Montréal, devoted exclusively to the city administration’s relations with businesses.
“The city can help them by facilitating their procedures, helping them be more accessible, and giving them a helping hand during construction projects,” says Projet Montréal, alluding perhaps to inconveniences inflicted on retail store owners when major repairs are undertaken and excavate commercial streets.
